GM Ben Cherington eager for 1st draft

Credit: Matt Stone

WRITING’S ON THE WALL: Sox left fielder Daniel Nava throws back to the infield after making a catch during last night’s series finale against the Tigers at Fenway Park.

Credit: Matt Stone

FALL GUY: Red Sox right fielder Ryan Sweeney lands on his head as he comes up short trying to catch a triple by Detroit’s Prince Fielder in the ninth inning of last night’s game at Fenway Park.

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Ben Cherington will begin accumulating future members of the Red Sox franchise using the familiar methods of the past.

The first-year general manager will preside over his initial Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft when the top 60 players are selected on Monday night at MLB Network’s Studio 42 in Secaucus, N.J. The next phase of the draft, Rounds 2-15, will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday at MLB Headquarters in New York.

Cherington had served the Red Sox organization in various scouting and developmental capacities under former GM Theo Epstein, who decamped for the Chicago Cubs following last September’s collapse. Cherington made inroads in the industry under Epstein and is anxious to make his own impact on the Red Sox brand.

“I guess every sort of event that happens for the first time is a little different, and this will be my first one,” said Cherington last night before the series finale against Detroit. “I’ll tell you next week how different it feels, but there are a lot of things that feel very similar.

“I’ll be in a room with a bunch of people that I’ve been in a room with for several years. We are using a lot of the same philosophies and the same standards to support us. We talk about the same things we care about and ultimately the same goal. The decision making process will be very similar to years past.”

Cherington was long on generalities and sort on specifics during his question and answer session. The Sox will have the 24th and 31st selections in the first round and the 37th Compensation Round A overall pick.

A team’s priorities can shift in the years it takes a prospect to develop. The immediate needs of the Sox lineup, starting rotation and bullpen are non-factors in a process that is a half decade away from measurable assessment.

“We are going to go after the best players available at each pick, looking for the best total return on this draft class,” said Cherington. “The key with any draft is to do more with your picks than the 29 other teams do.

“The nature of the draft is you don’t get all the players you want and you don’t hit on every player. But our job is to do more with our picks than our competition does. If we do that more often than not over a period of years, we’ll be building an advantage for the Red Sox.”

The Red Sox have seven homegrown players on their active roster — pitchers Jon Lester (2002), Daniel Bard (2006) and Clay Buchholz (2005), infielders Will Middlebrooks (2007), Dustin Pedroia (2004) and Kevin Youkilis (2001), and outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury (2005). Catcher Kelly Shoppach was drafted by the Sox in 2001, traded to Cleveland in 2006 in the Coco Crisp deal, and then rejoined the team as a free agent in December.

“The beauty of the draft is the excitement of the unknown about what is going to happen, and then having one of your dreams fulfilled,” said Lester. “It is nice to be a homegrown guy and it is nice to be thought of that way.

“It is nice to be important to the organization and not a chip moved for somebody else.”